I love Sauternes--it's my favorite sticky wine in the world. But I'm most unfashionable in my preferences in that I prefer Climens to Y'quem and the lemony non-botrytis years that most consider the lesser vintages. So when rafts of 2004s starting washing up on sale sites for practically nothing, I went big.

Opened a 750 the other night to share with friends. Bright medium yellow, the wine hasn't darkened an iota in the bottle. Flavors of lemon meringue pie, white flowers, pineapple and the paler stone fruit follow a pretty nose of ginger and Eureka lemon. It's the lighter more delicate style I really love and in that quite refreshing--one rarely uses that word around a dessert wine. The acid is perhaps a little light for long-term aging, but it's certainly adequate for now and the mid-term--I love acid and can be easily deceived.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Reiussec was my first ever Sauternes, a glass I ordered after dinner in a high end restaurant. And I don't know what vintage it was, in retrospect it was obviously a cool vintage, and maybe 'outright cold' is a better word than 'cool'. I've actually never had one like it since in that it was scarcely yellow, and it had a very dieselly nose that I absolutely hated on first whiff but was madly in love with by the end of the glass. All Rieussecs I've had since have been riper. And it's a great house, I do love them and own a few--in fact, I'd call the 01 the most perfect Sauternes I've ever had. But year in/year out, Climens is more my style.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

I was really impressed by the 2004 Chapelle de Lafaurie-Peyraguey, which is an absolute steal. Looking at Wine Doctor and Bordeaux Gold, it seems like 2004 Sauternes was patchy, but the top names made outstanding wines, and they are cheap! So in short Jenise, you inspired me to go out and buy some Coutet and Lafaurie.

P.S.: Ryan is a Sauternes junky.

"The sun, with all those planets revolving about it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else to do"Galileo Galilei

(avatar: me next to the WIYN 3.5 meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory)